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Monday, February 22, 2010

Broccoli Cheese Breakfast Casserole Recipe (Low-Carb, Gluten-Free)

Broccoli and cheese is a classic combination that tastes great in a breakfast casserole!

(Updated and added to Recipe Favorites February 2010) For years now I've been making low-carb and South Beach Diet friendly breakfast casseroles with eggs, veggies, cheese, and sometimes meat., but this Broccoli and Cheese Breakfast Casserole is still one of my favorites, adapted from a casserole my Grandma Denny used to make. Grandma's version was a richer casserole with more cheese, mayo, and cracker crumbs, but the idea of a casserole with broccoli, cheese, and eggs is still a keeper.

The original version of this recipe made a huge casserole, but now I'm much more likely to make a smaller version in my countertop toaster/convection oven. This post has the recipe for the smaller version you see in the two sets of photos, but after that I'll include the larger version for those with the original recipe bookmarked. This is delicious with sour cream, and I love it with a thin layer of Ajvar Red Pepper Spread over the sour cream. If you like the idea of an all-in-one breakfast dish, this recipe is a great one to try.

Start by cutting broccoli into small flowerets, then blanch them in boiling salted water for a few minutes and drain.

Layer the cooked broccoli in the bottom of a glass or metal casserole dish that you've misted with olive oil or sprayed with non-stick spray.

Sprinkle the cheese on top of the broccoli, trying to get an even layer so there is cheese all through the dish. For the toaster oven, I use a pan that's 7.25 X 11.25 inches. (When I look at this photo it looks like a lot of cheese but it was only 3/4 cup!)

Mix together eggs, milk or half and half, and Spike Seasoning and pour over the broccoli cheese mixture. I like to take a fork and make sure everything is evenly distributed.

When it's done the casserole will puff up slightly, sometimes even above the edge of the pan.

After it sits for a few minutes it will sink back down and end up looking something like this.

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 375 degrees. Spray a glass casserole dish with nonstick spray. (I use 7.25 X 11.25 inch pan for this size, but it can be a little larger if you don't have that size.) Cut broccoli into flowerets about 1 inch across. Put broccoli into pot with enough water to cover and bring to a boil. As soon as the water boils and broccoli turns bright green (less than 5 minutes) immediately drain broccoli into colander.

While broccoli cools, break eggs into mixing bowl. Add milk or half and half, Spike seasoning, and black pepper and beat eggs until ingredients are well combined.

Put drained broccoli into casserole dish. Sprinkle cheeses over broccoli. Pour eggs over broccoli-cheese, then use a fork to gently stir so that broccoli and cheeses are evenly distributed throughout the eggs.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes, or until top is slightly browned and eggs puff up slightly.

Made with low-fat cheese, this is a perfect breakfast for any phase of the South Beach Diet, and would be perfect for any Low-Glycemic eating plan. For phase two or three, add some 100% whole wheat toast or a dish of berries on the side.

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65 comments:

Hi Kalyn, I read your blog all the time! I tried this recipe last night and ate it this morning. It turned out good for my first casserole! I made it into 3rds because I would be the only one eating, but something felt like it was missing? Who knows! I wanted to ask you if I should freeze it, or just put it in the refrigerator? I work in the morning and made it so I could just take that with me every day. Thank you for all your fun recipes!

I'm supposed to cook a few meals for a week-long family vacation with my parents, sister and brother-in-law, and (gulp!) nieces in the 5-10 year old range.

I want to make stuff the girls will like so that they will love me ;-) but it needs to be healthy so that their mom (my sister) doesn't have a cow, and it needs to be sophisticated enough for the adults, including ME!

Ahhhhh. you call casserole what we call tart here. It looks divine and I make these quite often, so will definitely give your a try. Have I ever said what an indispensable resource your blog has become fr my regular meals?

I have been trying to do South Beach for several months and I'm always looking for new recipes and this one fits the bill perfect for breakfast. I'm thinking this would be really good served with the fat free sour cream mixed with a tiny bit of fresh pesto sauce.

Thank you for all of your encouragement to all of us on South Beach, I can hardly wait to try many other of your recipes.

Hi Kalyn!I have been eating this casserole for a week now for breakfast, and I just made it again for this coming week. This time, I added some green pepper and red onion to give it a little more flavor. I will let you know if it tastes better or worse with these added ingredients. Do you think Canadian bacon cut into chunks would be good in it as well?

Kelly, I think the variations are endless. Canadian bacon would be great. I think mushrooms would taste good with this too. There are quite a few other breakfast casseroles in the Eggs and Breakfast Dishes section of the recipe archives too, if you want to check them out.

Hi, I need some help here. I have a small bottle of Thickened Cream (300ml) and Sour Cream (300g). I have no idea how to use them in cooking. I guess I can use the Thickened Cream for indian food as thick curry sauce. But how about Sour Cream? If you can point me to few recipes will be really great! Thanks.

Hi Kalyn, Thanks for this recipe! Been trying to add more warm breakfasts into my routine so that my TCM practitioner can stop going on and on about how detrimental cold breakfast is. At only 25 minutes, I can easily pop this in the oven and then get ready for the day and enjoy afterward. Thanks!

Hi Kalyn, Love this recipe. I added a chopped red pepper and used feta cheese and some parmesan instead of the shredded cheese. Next time I'm going to add some chopped ham. My hubby has been eating for lunch. Reheats nicely and is hearty.

LOVE LOVE LOVE your blog thanks so much. Looking forward to trying many of your recipes. A question about freezing the broccoli, egg and cheese breakfast casserole. Do you cook it then freeze it or freeze it raw? It would be great to cook it and freeze it. Thanks in advance DEB~

HI Kalyn! I've been a big fan of your site for a while now - thanks for your hard work. I recently tried making this casserole and it is just delicious. I couldn't believe it but it truly taste great left over as well! Thanks! Liz

Kalyn, in the photo portion above, you mention using a 7.25 X 11.25 inch pan. However, the recipe itself says 10 x 14 for both the 6-serving and 8- to 12-serving versions. I assume I would need the smaller pan size if I were making the version that serves 6?

I think I'll chop up the broccoli so my daughter can't just eat around it! Maybe I'll try to make these in a muffin tin, for quick re-heatable on-the-go breakfasts! I think it would taste great with some bacon chopped up in it too! Green onions would probably add a nice flavor as well. Now off to the store!

I made this during my first week of South Beach, and it was very delicious. I did not have Spike seasoning, which I think would've given it a little more flavor (it was slightly bland the way I made it). I'm going to go read your posts on Spike Seasoning and see if I can get some ideas on how to either buy it or add spices that are similar!

I have tried a few of your recipes and LOVE them! I wanted to make this broccoli/cheese casserole, but I was going to put it in a pie dish so it's more like a crustless quiche. My question.... does it form a bit of a crust on the bottom? Does this cut in clean pieces?

Tracy, I've never done it that way. Seems like the cooked broccoli would get soggy overnight in the fridge. I would probably cut up the broccoli the night before, then cook the broccoli and assemble the casserole to cook in the morning.

Jody, it will freeze but when it thaws the eggs release some water and I don't think it's quite as good after it's been frozen. It will keep well in the fridge for at least a week after it's cooked, so I'd probably recommend just making a couple of batches and eating it a few times during the week. (If you do try freezing, it definitely needs to be cooked first.)

This can definitely be doubled and cooked in two pans in the same oven. I haven't tried making it ahead (although I make and store in the fridge, and then microwave to heat all week.)

If possible, I'd probably assemble the casseroles and keep in the fridge, and then cook right before you're serving them. Allow a few minutes extra for starting with cold ingredients. If that won't work, you could *probably* cook in advance, (slightly undercooking) and then heat in the oven, but I have never tried it that way so I can't say for sure.

Hi Kalyn. I love your blog and recipes so much. I'm about to start SBD (again) and have been researching and gathering recipes for Phase 1. I'm thrown off a little by the pan size. I don't have the same size you use in the smaller recipe. I only have 9x13, 9x9 and 8x8 pans. Would this work in one of those or would you alter the recipe? I'll be the only one eating it so I wanted to make the smaller batch.

Rachel, glad you're enjoying the recipes. A pan that's 8"x8" would be very close to the size I used. (Whenever I'm in doubt I just do the math - length x width - and pick the one that's closest. And for this recipe if the pan is slightly larger or smaller it will just make the casserole slightly thinner or thicker.)

Hi Kaylyn!I love your blog and love all of the breakfast casserole ideas!:)I'm a serious foodie and these look great.I've got a gluten free and vegetarian family members.I'm in charge of Christmas brunch this year and this recipe looks great! Can I make any of your egg casseroles the night before (precooked) to cook in the a.m.? Christmas a.m. will too hectic for me to cook for 10plus people(did 8 also mention I have a newborn?!;-) with out some preivous evening prep! Thank you.

Hi Ashley. That does sound like a hectic morning! What I think would work best is to do all the advance prep the night before (blanch the veggies, cook meats, grate cheese, beat eggs and keep in a container with a snap-on lid, etc. Then the next morning just assemble in the casserole dish and bake. Remember to add a little cooking time if the ingredients are still cold, or let them come to room temperture before you put it in the oven. Enjoy!

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